By Frank Tallerico,
Siskiyou
County Superintendent of Schools, retired

The
Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) and the
Hydro-Electric Settlement Agreement (HESA) are not all about
fish and habitat restoration. Its all about greed and power
on the part of certain interests including government
agencies both state and federal, several Native American
Tribes and at least 9 non-governmental organizations. (NGO’s)
who call themselves “stakeholders.”

These
documents were conceived in secret with no public meeting
postings or input. These secret meetings totally ignored
established laws which were put in place to govern the
Klamath River water allocations in 1957.

The
Klamath Basin Compact was signed by both California and
Oregon legislatures and signed by the governors of the two
states. The Compact was later approved by both the Senate
and the House of Representatives and sent on to then
President Eisenhower who signed it into law in the Fall of
1957. This document is still in force today and should not
be ignored by the signatories to the KBRA and the KHSA.

There
are elements in the KBRA that calls for congress to
authorize CHARTERS which will create a REGIONAL GOVERNANCE
authority. This regional governance authority would
super-cede county boards of supervisors and/or
commissioners. The Hydro Agreement defines how we, the rate
payers, are going to pay for dam removal and alternative
energy to replace the lost clean, green energy created by
hydro-power.

From Frank Tallerico,
Yreka, CA

Exhibit
A

If
the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, which includes
the removal of 4 hydro-electric generating dams on the
Klamath River does indeed come to pass, the entire
region would come under the control of the
Klamath BasinCoordinating Counciland the Technical Advisory Team to
coordinateimplementation.The term of the agreement is for 50 years and
can be extended by the parties to the agreement, and
some water provisionswouldbecome permanent.This council
is made up of representatives from the following: 3
federal agencies, 1 California agency, 3 Oregon
agencies, 3 Tribes, 1 Oregon county, 2 California
counties, On-project irrigators and at least 9
non-governmental-organizations. This Governance
Agreement will provide for a NEWDECISION MAKING AUTHORITIES OR CHANGE EXISTING
STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS. (1)

The
citizens of the region will not be able to vote for
these council members, they will be appointed by the
organization of which they represent. And upon the
effective date of the Agreement the Parties will
initiate the interim Governance Council for the purpose
of making recommendations to the federal agencies. The
appropriate federal agency will immediately undertake
the formal steps to obtain CHARTERS for
the Klamath Basin Coordinating Council and necessary
subgroups. (1)

These
Charters will then govern the Klamath River Basin and
local control will have been wrested from local
government, the last voice of the people. (The Board of
Supervisor and/or Commissioners).

1:
There is no election provision of the governing bodies’
officers by the general population.

2: Who,
other than the signatories, will have oversight
authority over these Councils that have given themselves
a 50 year lifespan plus an opportunity for more? (1)

HYDRO-ELECTRIC SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

We,
the public have been told on numerous occasions, that
dam removal would be a business decision made by Pacific
Corp. However, this business decision to be made by
Pacific Corp means that we, the rate payers, will be
responsible for paying the cost of removing these dams.
The Hydro-Electric Settlement Agreement will require
that the ratepayershelp offset thecosts of replacement energy by an additional
surcharge on your power bill.(2)

The
Parties agree to identify third-party funding and cost
offset options in the Final Agreement. These options
may include: (1) additional flows created by the
Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, (2) third-party
funding for the restoration and replacement power, (3)
earnings on the surcharge trust, (4) generation during

Facility
removal stage, and (5) and other options that can be
identified and agreed upon by the Parties. (2)

Is this
the kind of government and loss of clean energy we want
for our region?

I
say No to this fraudulent take over of
the region by some special interest groups who have
nothing to lose and everything to gain. Over 150 years
of growth and prosperity would be destroyed and the
region’s customs and culture will be lost forever.